Automatic motor-vehicle brake.



A. SHADLOFSKI.

AUTOMATIG MOTOR VEHICLE BRAKE.

APPLICATION mum APB-.15, 1m.

1,0405244. Patented Oct. 1, 1912.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

avwewtoz Witflaooeo I An hony SHQdlOISkL A. SHADLOFSKI,

AUTOMATIC MOTOR VBHYIGLE BRAKE.

APPLICATION rum) APR.15.1912.

1,040,244. Patented 001. 1,1912.

4 SHEETS-BHBBT 3.

Wane/00% Anthony Shacflbjski airman A. SHADLOPSKI. AUTOMATIC MOTORVEHICLE BRAKE. APPLIOATION FILED APR.15; 1912.

, 1,040,244. Patented Oct. 1,1912.

4 BHEBTS-SHBET 4.

to amemto'a lvfliwcoogo An hony ShCLClLOjSkL J I i I I K 3 I fllttoznupit it mix/y concern! TE ST E ANTHONY SBIAIDLOFSKI, 01F PLYMDUTH,PENNSYLVANIA.

nnromarrc MOTOR-VEHICLE BRAKE.

Specification of Letters'latent.

Patent-ed Oct 1, 191?,

Application filed April 15, 18 12. ffierial mo. 680,7625.

, erect description of the invention, such as t ll w ll lyenable othersskilled in the art to which 1 it appertai-us to make and use the same.

fihis invention relates to motor vehicles, and :nrere especially to thebrakes thereoffi end it 9 object of the same is to produce an; 'attizelnuent forautom'obiles and the like by l menu's of'avhich, when themachine is run into a pedestrian or other obstruction, the hi-alto willbe automatically applied or in the amplified form of my invention thewheels will be absolutely and immediately stalled against furtherrotation. 7

tin carryingout this object I make use of several feat ures, includingthe spring mechaniem for automatically applying the brakes, *the meansder setting said mechanism by hand, the "lender for tripping the settingmechanism, a signal adjacent the operator by which he is informedwhether the brake mechanism has been set, and the specific connest-ionbetween 'the brake actuating mechanism-and the shoes on the hubs ofwheels roteting on stub-axles connected with the machine by means ofknuo'kle joints. I These various features are fully described andclaimed below, and shown in the drawings p 'i /herein y I i I 1 is a lanview of the inventionf complete, appliec to an automobile; and Fig. i 2is a side elevation of the invention, simi-' larly applied. Fig. 3 is anenlarged perspecti-re detail of the fender. Fig. 4 is an en- .lsrgedside elevation of the setting lever,f

and Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section of the same lev r, viewed from theother side, anda side elevation of the lower end of the cam lever. Fig.6 is a front elevation of an au- 'tomobile with my invention appliedthereto, showing the fender as dropped ready for; use. Fig. 7 is aperspective detail showing the means for applying the brakes to the 3'firon't or steering wheel, and Fig. 8 is an enllarged elevation takenfrom the rear of one (of ,said wheels with the brake-applying mechanismadjacent,- Fig. 9 is a perspective. view of the lower portion of thecasing which I is mounted forward of the automobile hood,

1 showing the several compartments therein and some of the mechanismcontained with in the compartments. Fig. 10 is an enlarged perspectivedetail of one of the shoes. Fig. 11 is a similar perspective detail ofthe guide. Fig. 12 is an enlarged vertical section showing the signalingmechanism andthe connection between the brake mechanism forming thesubject matter of the present inventicn and the pedal of the ordinarybrake j .meclmnism usually found on an automobile.

The frame 1 of the automobile or other motor vehicle is supported by theusual rear wheels 2 mounted on the rear axle 3 and driven by means notnecessary to illustrate -or descr be, and by front wheels 4 mounted onstub axles 5 connected with the front axle by lrnuckles 6 from whichproject arms '7 which are in turn pivotally connected 'byga cross rodSso that they shall move in unison as usual; and the steering mechanismis con- 1 nected with one of the arms or 'withthis cross rod in a mannernotnecessary to illustrate or describe, The frame carries the usual hood9 and dashboard 10, and in rear of 'the latter and adjacent the driversseat is the brake pedal 11 by means of which he can apply the brake byfoot pressure in the usual manner. No novelty is claimed for the partsthus fardescribed.

The actuating mechanism for the brakes hereinafter described isbypreference located within a casing 15 which may bedisposed forward ofthe hood 9 and essentially comrises a central levcrcom'partment 16 witha slot 17 in its front end for a pur ose to appear below, while it alsopreferaby comprises two side compartments '18 in which are placed thesprings if spring power be employed for applying the brakes' While thisis my preferable source of energy and I has been d ;c.ribed andillustrated herein, it will be cle:.r'that-m11ch latitude may be allowedthe manufacturer as to the'kind of power he employs, especially as thiscasing containing the source of energy is adjacent the hood of theautomobile containing its engine and from which latter power inighteasily be drawn and stored in a number of ways. As perhaps the simplestsource of power, however, I have illustrated springs 19 in thecompartments 18 coiled on guide rods 20 connected by across head 21which through the lever compartment 15w erein it is connected with orpasses 'through the power lever 22 as at 23, and the tendency ofdirection of the lltl while its, protruding front end has a handle 1 32.which may be grasped pivoted between'its ends therein as at 31,

and drawn upward by the operator. Pivoted at 33 within the levercompartment 16 is a cam lever tie-connected at its upper end with theupper end oft-he power. lever 22 by a link 35, and

having a cam face 36 at its lower end promounted in the setting 37, andpermits the vided at a suitable point with a notch or keeper 37 and oversaid cam face moves the inner end of the setter lever 30 as its handleis raised, said inner end by prefence carrying an anti-friction roller38 so disposed that it will move over the cam face in the act of settingthe device. The inner arm of the setter lever 30 also carries a.spring-actuated latch 39 whose tip is adapted to be projected into thenotch or keeper 37 when this lever has been turned so that the cam lever34 has been forced to the rear at its lower end and the power lever 22has been moved to put the springs 19 under tension; and finally a spring40 is provided for turning the setting lever 30 in the oppositedirection to free the cam lever 34, when the latch 39 is withdrawn fromthe keeper 37.

The fender used in connection with this invention comprises two L-shapedsidebars 45 pivoted at 46 to the sides of the casing 15 or to othersuitable points on the automobile and connected by a cross bar' 47 whichextends across the frontof the same, and for throwing said cross barupward and away from the setting device above described I may employsprings 48 coiled around the pivots 46, or weights 4:9, or both. Thelower extremities of said side bars d5 are connected by knuckle joints50 with short arms 51 rising from a transverse cushion bar 52 whichtravels at the extreme front end of themachine and forward of its wheelsand to which I give this name because it will be made soft as by beingcovered with rubber. In conjunction with this fender a spring-actuatedtrigger 53 is .lever 30 and connected as at 54 with the latch 39, sothat when the fender is borne to the rear it depresses the trigger,draws the tip of the latch 39 out of engagement with the keeper spring40 to trip the setting. mechanism with the result de scribed above. Whenthe fender is not used, it may be folded upward around its knucklejoints 5O Ward of the guide and hooked up as at At all times the cushionbar 52 will be serviceable in preventing any of the parts at the frontend of the automobile from being marred or broken by accident.

The brake drums 60 on the hubs of the various wheels, and shoes 61pivoted at 62 near'the same,

the contacting faces of the drums and shoes "being by preference notchedor serrated as shown at 63 so that when the brakes are applied thewheels will be absolutely stalled. If these serrations are omitted, thedrums mechanism proper comprises and shoes are made like those used in:the

ordinary brake mechanisms as applied to motor vehicles; butas thisdevice is for emergencies when it will be necessary to stop theautomobile abruptly, I prefer to use'the serrated faces 63 so that thebrake mechanism herein described is employed inaddition to the ordinarybrake mechanism with which a motor vehicle is equipped and which ofcourse is actuated by the pedal 11 referred to above and in a manner notnecessary to. a

The rod 64 which applies the brakes to the rear wheels extends beneaththe frame 1, through a guide 65, is then branched as shown at 66,and'its extremities describe.

connected at 67 with the shoes 61; and for I preferably dispose astop"68 on said rod against which bears a spring 69 whose tendency is toapply the brakes to the rear wheels and which there fore serves toassist the actuating mechanism described above. Obviously the guide 65supports the weight of this rod and spring. The front end of the rod 64must be connected with the upper end of the power lever 22, and themeans I employ for making the connection consist preferably of asupplemental lever 70 pivoted at 71 within the casing 15 and its. lowerend connected at 72 with the rod 64:, while a link 73 connects the upperend 74 of the power lever with a Y oint 75 on the supplemental lever 7 0some distance below its pivot 71 so that movement of the power lever inthe direction indicated by the arrow to-the rear wheels. on the frontwheels must, however, be actuated by slightly differentmechanism'because said wheels are journaled on stub axles 5 which turnon their knuckles as the machine is steered. The same serrated) drums 60and shoes 61 are here employed,'the shoes being pivoted at 80 to thearms 7 projecting cars, 81 pivotally connected by a brake beam 82 whichstands adjacent the cross rod 8 and moves longitudinally from side toside f the machineas the latter is steered. Embracing the centralportion of this beam 82 is an eye 83 at the rear end of the front brakerod 8 and the forward end of this red is pivotally connected at 85 withwill apply the brakes The emergency brakes (and preferably andthemselves having inwardly LWW the. lower oi the powerjlever 22s!) thatwhen the latter is moved in the direction of thearrow the front brakeswill be applied. I may here say that'the invention could be simplifiedby omitting the emergency brakes on either the rear. axle or the frontaxle, but it will be understood that this and other changes? in detailsmay be made without departing from the. principle of my invention.

A signal is preferably employed in conjunction with this mechanism, sothat the operator may be informed whether the automatic brake mechanismhas been set; and the same. consists of a finger 90 pivoted within andmoving adjacent marks 91 on a box 92 carried by the dashboard 10 orother partof' the machine where it will be within sight of the operator,and a rod 93 connecting this finger with the power lever 22. When thelatter stands in one position with the actuating mechanism set, thefinger 90 is at one extreme of its movement and the operator knows thatby cranking or starting his machine he can progress withoutinterference; but when the finger stands at the opposite extreme of itsmovement he is informed that the various shoes 61 are engaged'with theseveral drums 60 and he cannot start the 'machine. In conjunction withthis signal I preferably form a loop 94 on the rod 93 which loosely embraces a stud 95 on the pedal 11, the construction being suchthat whenthe actuating mechanism is tripped and the power lever 22 moved to applythe automatic brake, its draft on the. rod 93 will cause the loop 94 toengage the stud 95 and move the brake pedal 1.1 so that the ordinarybrakes on the automobile will also'be applied. In fact, with thisamplification the finger 90 and marks 91 within the box 92 might beomitted, as the operator would be informed by the position of the brakepedal 11 whether the automatic brakes were set or not. On the otherhand, when they are set .the loop 94 moves to the rear and frees thestud 95, so that the ordinar brakes may be manipulated at will as usuaWhen this automatic brake is set so that its shoes 61 are out of contactwith the drums 60, the motor vehicle may be cranked and driven andstarted and stopped as usual. To set the same it is only necessary forthe operator to grasp the handle 32 of the Setting lever 30 and move itupward; this'causes the roller 38 to move down thecam face of the lever34 and swing the latter in such direction that its link 35 moves thepower lever 22 and places the springs 19 under tension, the rods 64 and84 meanwhile drawing the shoes out of engagement with the drums. As thehandle 32 is raised to its extreme, the tip of the latch 39 dropsinto'the notch-37 in the cam face 36, and the parts are held in thisposition so that the fender can be lowend and its cushion bar-$2 standsfoi'watd of the wheels and all other parts. of the machine. The presenceof the casing 15 even in front of the hood 9 of the automobile putsthisfender quite some distance ahead of the wheels, but this I consider ofadvantage because when anaccident is immi neat and a pedestrian, forinstance, is struck by the cushion bar 52 and knockeddown, the inertiaof the motor vehicle will carry it some distance forward even though theautomatic brakes act instantly and the rate tion of all the wheels ischecked so that the machine slides forward on its tires. How ever, underordinary conditions the automobilistwill usually have applied the emeIgency brakes by'means of the pedal ll and slowed his machine downconsiderably be fore he strikes the pedestrian, hoping and expectingthat the latter will dodge aside at the last moment; and it will befound that if all hope fails and the cushion bar 52 strikes thepedestrian or other obstruction, the positive stalling of the Wheels sothat their tires slide upon the ground for the short distanceintervening between said cushion bar and the point where the recum bentpedestrian would be struck by the automobile is sutlicient for thelatter to come to rest. The rearward movement of the fender ,causes itscross bar 47 to push inward on the trigger 53 which through itsconnection 54 with the latch 39 withdraws the latter from the notch orkeeper 37, and permits the spring 40 to throw the setting lever 30upward at its rear end and out of engagement with the cam face of thelever 34;,

;and as soon as the latter is permitted to 3 move it turns on its pivot33 and that permits the power lever 22 to swing in the 1 direction ofthe arrow under the impulse of 3 the power mechanism such as the springs19. Such action of the power lever 22 moves I the rod 84 forward, swingsthe brake beams 82, and applies the shoes 61 to the drums 60 of thefront wheels whatever the position; i of the latter, as the eye 83 atthe rear end 0t the rod permits the brake beam-82 to jslide through itas the machine is steered. jSuch movement of the. power lever 22,

through the link 73, also swings the supplemental lever 70, and thisushes the rod .64 to the rear against the ensi'on of the supplementalspring 69, and its branch 66 swings the rear shoes 61 into contact withthe rear drums 60. Moreover such movement of the power, lever 22 drawson the rod 93 andsets the signal to indicate to the driver that theautomatic brake hasbeenapplied, and if this rod 93 has the loop 94.

engaging a stud 95 on the pedal 11, its forward movement moves saidpedal and also applies the ordinary emergency brakes. So that, if anaccident happens so suddenly that the operator has not even yet appliedhis Dan foot brakes, by this amplification they are automaticallyapplied through their connection with-the automatic mechanism. If thisconnection is used it is possible to omit the serrations 63 on all facesof the brake shoes and drums, because the application of thebrakes ateight points on'the machine will doubtless stall its wheels in anyevent, or retard their rotation to suchextent that the machine will stopwithin its length.

Thus it will be seen that I have produced an automatic brake for motorvehicles whose actuating mechanism may be spring power weight to themotor vehicle, and is an advantage to the machine fid its driver and asafeguard for the general public.

As above suggested, it may not be necessary to employ all the detailsand amplifications hereinbefore set forth, and changes in unimportantparticulars may be made without departing from the spirit of myinvention. 3

What is claimed as new is:

1. In an automatic brake, the combination with the brake shoes, and rodsleading therefrom; of a spring-actuated power lever connected with saidrods, a cam lever connected with the power lever and having a notch in.its cam face, a spring-actuated setting lever having a roller at one endadapted to engage said face and a handle atv the other end, a latchcarried bythe lever and adapted to engage said notch, a spring forturning this lever to disengage it from the cam face when the latch isdisengaged from the notch, and a pivoted fender adapted when pressed tothe rear to retract said latch, for the purpose set forth.

2. In an automatic brake for automobiles and the like, the combinationwith a casing disposed forward ofthe hood and comprising threecompartments, a power lever located in the central compartment, thebrake shoes, and connections between said lever and shoes; of powermechanisms located in the side compartments, a cross head connectingsaid mechanisms and intermediately connected with said lever, means forsetting the latter, and means for automatically tripwa ers ping thesetting mechanism when an ac'cident occurs.

3. In an automatic brake for automobiles and the like, the combinationwith a casing disposed forward of the hood and comprising threecompartments, a power lever 1ocated in the central compartment, thebrake shoes, and connections between said lever and shoes; of springsmounted on guide rods in the side compartments, a cross head connectingthem and intermediately connected with said power lever, a cam connectedwith the latter, a setting lever adapted to be manually turned intocontact with said cam, and means for tripping the setting lever when anaccident occurs.

4. The combination with a motor vehicle,

a stud on its brake pedal and a signal adjacent said pedal and includinga pivoted finger; of automatic brake mechanism additional to theemergency brake mechanism on the motor vehicle, actuating mechanism forapplying the automatic brake, a rod leading from said actuatingmechanism to the brake pedal and having a loop loosely embracing itsstud and also embracing said finger, means for setting said actuatingmechanism, and means for tripping the setting means when an accidentoccurs.

5. In an automobile, the combination with the-front axle, knucklesthereon, stub shafts on the knuckles, the front wheels having drums ontheir hubs, arms projecting from said knuckles, a cross bar pivotallyconnecting the arms, brake shoes pivoted to said arms and connected b abrake rod, and a rod having an eye siding loosely on the brake rod; of afender comprising two L- shaped side bars pivoted at their angles to theautomobile and having their pendant I arms connected by a cross bar, acushion bar having arms rising therefrom, knuckle joints connectingthese arms with said pendant arms of the side bars, means for turningthe fender on its pivots'to move the cushion bar normally forward, andautomatic brakeapplying mechanism tripped by the movement of the fenderto the rear, for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

ANTHONY SHADLOFSKI.

Witnesses:

CHARLES E SMITH, WILL 1AM W. Sear.

